Description

Poetic Healing is about a Vietnam Veteran’s pain
and the healing power of words. Basil B. Clark’s
sense of order was disrupted after an ambush in Vietnam
that resulted in the constant ringing in the ears known
as tinnitus. Clark had to accept such pain as the norm
to help himself recover meaning and regain a sense of
order. His plays and poems function as equipment for
living and include dynamic conversations among imaginary
family members, friends, and divine agents.

Clark’s plays and poems are supplemented by the
critical commentary of Mark E. Huglen, who offers insight
into the five phases of poetic healing. He draws upon
the teachings of renowned scholar Kenneth Burke, particularly
his terms for order, orientation, realms for words, and
perspective by incongruity, bringing Burke closer to
intrapersonal and interpersonal communication as well
as to the study of suicide. Bernard Brock’s Afterword
describes how Clark manages to heal not just with his
words and symbolism, but through them.

Poetic Healing tells the story of the word’s power
to transform pain, loss, and even desperation into their
counterparts, a poetic journey that will uplift and inspire.

About the Authors

Mark E. Huglen (Ph.D., Wayne State University, Detroit)
teaches communication at the University of Minnesota,
Crookston. His books include Argument Strategies
from Aristotle’s Rhetoric with Norman E. Clark. His
articles and reviews have appeared in journals such
as American Communication Journal, Electronic Journal
of Communication, KB Journal, Kentucky Journal
of Communication, North Dakota Journal of Speech and
Theatre, and The
Review of Communication. At the National Communication
Association convention in 2001, his group received
the “Best Panel Award” for the basic course
division. He is co-editor of KB Journal, a national
/ international scholarly refereed journal.

Basil B. Clark (M.A., University of Kentucky; MA, Morehead
State University) was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry
in action, and two Bronze Stars, one for heroism in ground
combat, while in Vietnam. He now teaches public speaking,
oral interpretation, theater, and interpersonal communication
at Pikeville College in Kentucky. He helped develop the
communication major at Pikeville College and also coaches
the speech team. He won grand prize in the PART (now TheatreWorks) national playwriting contest for his play “Change
of Exchanges” (1983). More recently, his story “The
Town Drunk” (2001) was included in The World’s
Best Shortest Stories published by Quality Paperback
Book Club.

The late Bernard L. Brock (Ph.D., Northwestern University) was
a professor emeritus of Communication at Wayne State
University, Detroit and authored and edited numerous
books on rhetoric, communication, and Kenneth Burke.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 The Enrollment and Recognition of Pain

Turn It
Off, Please
A Series of Poems on Tinnitus
A Dialogue: “Tinnitus” Part I and Part
II
Commentary: The Problem of Pain

2 Reflections of
War in a Postwar Terrain

Poetic Recollections
of War
Remembrances Associated with Genre of War
Starkle, Starkle, Little Twink
To Choose or Not To Choose,
That Is the Consequence
Commentary: The Root Metaphor, and Reflections

3
Engaging Postwar Zones of Combat

The Question
of God and Patriotism
Obstacle Battlers Anonymous
Sanity, of Questioning
Internal and External Battles
Commentary: Metaphysics and Other Dynamics

4 Burning
the Postwar Terrain

The Complicated Self
The Relationships
In and Near the Grave
Commentary: The Dreadful Shadowlands

5 Beyond the
Postwar Mindset

Water
Seeds for Growth
Growing and Reaching
Commentary: Living in the Garden